For all of his athletic gifts, one thing remains a physical impossibility for Taylor Jensen.

The kid is utterly incapable of talking about himself.

Football season, it would go something like this: 'Hey, Taylor, some performance on your part, what with your 400 yards passing and all.' 'Really, it was all about my linemen and receivers.'

Then came basketball season: 'Taylor, how did it feel to hit that game-winning shot in the final minute?' 'Honestly, all the credit goes to my teammates for putting me in that position.'

Want a quote about Taylor Jensen? Don't bother going to Taylor Jensen. Without fail, the humble star will always steer the conversation back to the team.

And that's fine, because there's never any shortage of others lining up to sing his praises.

"Taylor is only a sophomore, but he acts like a senior," said Michael Garcia, Jensen's backcourt partner on Forest Grove's boys basketball team the past two seasons. "It all starts in his head, basically -- he has the IQ of a senior, and he doesn't get fazed by pressure. He knows how to lead a team."

Greg Evers said coaching the phenom has been a privilege. Then he hesitated, realizing that 'coaching' might not be the right term for his role in the process.

"He's somebody you don't have to do a whole lot when he's on the court," Evers said. "There's not a lot of correcting taking place. That's just a position that's always under control, and I only have to worry about the other four.

"He just makes a coach's job so much easier."

Well, easy for Evers to say; no doubt, Jensen makes his job easier. Can't imagine the 6-foot-2, do-it-all point guard makes life a whole lot of fun for the folks on the other bench.

"The thing about Taylor, and it's the same as on the football field, is you have to keep reminding yourself that he's a sophomore," Evers said. "He plays with the headiness and smarts of a senior.

"Taylor is a different blend. He doesn't necessarily do it with quickness and explosiveness and athleticism -- I mean, he is a good athlete, but he doesn't have that explosive piece that a lot of kids have who are that good, that early. Taylor does it with intelligence, with shooting, and with length. He's real different."

Jensen led the Vikings in the typical 'point guard categories' of assists, steals and free throw percentage. He also managed to finish first in blocked shots, defensive rebounds and total points on an impressively deep team that qualified for the Class 6A playoffs.

According to Evers, Jensen is the first boys player in school history to make the all-conference team as a sophomore. He's also set up nicely to become just the second Viking to make the first team multiple times.

"That meant a lot to me, actually," he said. "Getting second team and not playing the whole second half, that was a great honor. The coaches decided to do that for me knowing that I really wanted to be out there but couldn't, but they still believed that I played well enough when I was on the court. That feels really good."

For that to happen, it likely would mean the Vikings had enjoyed a truly special season, as it presumably would give Forest Grove two of the conference's top spots. Jensen isn't going anywhere, and others have no trouble suggesting what the budding star himself would never acknowledge: He could go down as one of the school's all-time greats.

"I think Taylor can become all-state," Garcia said. "He's ahead of where I was (at that age), I think, because of his frame -- he can look over the defense, he can pass over defenders. That's something that I couldn't do. And I think Taylor is a much better playmaker than I was at that age.

"If he stays committed and stays determined and doesn't let anything sidetrack him, the sky's the limit for him."